
Issue No 118		02 November 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Corporate

Howard's List of Shame

ACTU President Shaharn Burrow runs through the litany of corporate collapses and down-sizes that have cut a swathe through the Australian community.

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We've got 8 days. 8 days to make a difference for our people - working Australians.

Jobs and job security - that is the message from these forums. We are beginning with capital city meetings as a lead up to a week of intense activity in marginal seats right across Australia, and hopefully in every workplace. That is where you are critical. The delegates amongst you.

Every day we hear of further job losses. Every Australian knows a family member or friend who has been made redundant or been forced to work in casual jobs. You can see some of the representatives here today who demonstrate the courage not to just stand up for themselves, but in standing up for working people right across the country.

We all know the stories of working families. We all know those who have been denied millions of dollars in lost entitlements, and we all know John Howard has stood back and done nothing to protect or to create jobs.

The Howard Government has a roll call of shame. And it is worth listening too.

In the Commonwealth Public Service we've seen 35,000 jobs disappear.

You have the companies with more than 1,000 job losses: ANZ, Westpac, Commonwealth, National Australian Bank, Ansett, Telstra, Australian Tax Office, One Tel, BHP, Franklins, Amcor, Coles Myer - Target, Daimaru and HIH.

There are the companies with between 500 and 1000 job losses: Bradmill, Optus, Pacific Dunlop - South Pacific Tyres, Accenture, Mitsubishi, Gate Gourmet, OneSteel and Harris Scarffe.

And those between 100 and 500 workers: Arnotts, Clark's Shoes, Vodafone, BT Funds Management, Australian Submarine Corporation, Chapmans Smallgoods, Orica, SAMCOR, ABC, Solectron, Thomas Clark Australia, Consolidated Apparel, Levi Strauss, Lucent Technologies, Sheridan, Barron Entertainment, Fletcher Jones, Mt Schank Meatworks, Alcatel, Dimension Data, Fox Studios, Nestle, Cisco, Commander Communications, Adelaide Bridgeton Cement, Bridgestone and Nortel.

And then the jobs at risk - the ones we have heard of in the last few weeks: Pasminco, Sydney Airport, Merrill Lynch, Hutchison Telecom (that's the Orange network), Hewlett Packard, AMP, Crown Casino, Medibank Private, Fairfax, News Limited, Mariott Hotel Group.

That is the Howard Government's list of shame - and there are hundreds of thousands of jobs in small businesses right across Australia - at risk - that we can't even locate.

NAB says it has to cut $500 million when the banks have made billions in profits and yet they continue to cut jobs. They have got no commitment to customer service or staff loyalty and there is no legislation that even seeks to make them reinvest the people's money that they make profit from in the people of Australia.

And then yesterday, Morgan & Banks (now calling themselves TPM Worldwide), released their outlook survey to track job offers from people who hire or recruit, and they say that their latest survey is the worst on record.

So we know that in the year following the introduction of the GST 160,000 full time jobs were wiped out. Youth unemployment has risen from 20.8% to 25.4% and what has this government done about it?

Well, let's take a little look at Ansett. Did the government work to protect jobs? No, not last year when they could have actually looked at the Singapore bid. Not again in June, where Singapore wanted to buy in and wanted some help. Not in August and not in September, when the company asked for help.

These people should be called "job killers".

This is an edited extract from Sharan Burrow's address to the Sydney Jobs Forum

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  Issue 118 contents

Interview: Flying High
ACTU Secretary Greg Combet on saving Ansett jobs, defeating Howard and wooing a new generation of unionists.

Corporate: Howard's List of Shame
ACTU President Shaharn Burrow runs through the litany of corporate collapses and down-sizes that have cut a swathe through the Australian community.

Campaign Diary: Week Four: The Battle Lines Drawn
It was a week that saw the leaders launch their campaigns, kiss lots of babies and battle for space with a Holy Jihad.

Industrial: Desperately Seeking Solutions
They might not call it 'industrial relations' in the spin of modern politics, but all the major parties have released plans that will affect the way we work over the next three years.

Economics: Manufacturing Prosperity
Neale Towart looks at the hidden debate of the election campaign - the degree of intervention government should take through Industry Policy.

History: War And Politics
The Conservatives are trying to wage war and win the election. The pundits say it�s a tried and true recipe for electoral success. The 1940 federal poll suggests otherwise.

International: Globalising Labour
On the eve of the International Metalworkers Federation Congress general secretary Marcello Malentacchi argues all nations need to retain a manufacturing base.

Review: Security - Who Needs it?
What does it mean to be secure? Should we even need to ask? In his new book, Anthony Burke asks the tough questions.

Satire: Locksmith Promises "Greater Security" If Elected
A Melbourne locksmith has agreed to run for federal parliament, campaigning on the key issue of security.

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» Abbott Under Pressure to Hold Seat

» Howard Double Dip Is Skyway Robbery

» Knowledge Nation Boosts IT Skills

» Stellar Win in Call Centre

» Unionists Barred Entry to Australia

» Shier's Famous Last Wordds

» Real Baby Bonus for Local Government

» Entire Town Joins Nurses' Strike

» Some Good News in Orange Squeeze

» Train Drivers Call for Level Crossing Action

» Posties See Wage Rise By Christmas

» Howard Fails To Stem Workplace Deaths

» Greenpeace Activist Gets Union Support

» Hotel Workers Name Their Odds

» Airport Screeners Strike Over Work Value

» East Timor Training Centre Copmpleted

» NSW IR Act Due for Five Year Review

» Organiser of the Year Nominations Open

» Activists Notebook

» STOP PRESS: Jakarta Shangri-La Hotel Workers Fined US$2 million